The artistic interpretation of Tolkien's imagination can be breathtaking. Or it can be appalling... Join in on the discussion of the artistic representations and collectible items in the Tolkien universe.

Suilad, Mellyn!<BR>I'm from Australia and have just discovered the existence of LOTR Intelli-Blox. We love Lego (but not as much as LOTR) and think this stuff sounds great. However, the only place I've been able to buy it is Ebay. I've done countless searches in on-line toy shops but no-one seems to have it. I've also emailed distributors for info on retail to the general public but no response. Is it still available, is it any good? Can anyone link me to a store who would sell to me here in Australia? Now i've seen it, I just have to have it all- you know what I mean!

Thanks, HopeSE! I've gotten 4 sets off Ebay, but I want "the BIG one"! (The Mines of Moria). There seems to be a conspiracy of silence regarding these things! Oh well, I guess I should save my pennies for the TTT figures anyway-did you check out the pics! Awesome! I can't wait to get Faramir..(heh, heh..drool)

LOTR Intelli-blox have come and gone in the US; they were clearanced after the holiday season. My view is: they were not bad. The bricks and special pieces like windows and lanterns were well-made. The figures were not so great, with huge bases and dumb poses. The mid-size sets, Prancing Pony and Isengard Caverns, were a pleasant building experience with lots of basic brick (unlike a lot of Lego sets.) The instructions were sometimes frustrating though.<BR><BR>Overall the LOTR sets struck me as a compromise with a budget. The variety of pieces is only good, not excellent. (By comparison, the Mega Bloks Dragons--coming soon to Australia--have a less than good variety.) Some elements like the boathooks and flames are dumb. And the talking feature in all the figures is wasted, because the Mines of Moria set was such poor value, and only Toys R Us stocked it.<BR><BR>If a construction toy maker had coordinated with a maker of action figures, possibly each could have done what they do best. The construction playsets could have been packed with more value, and a better line of 3" figures would have sold separately as well as bundled. Such is the toy business.<BR><BR>-Erik<BR><BR>There was a lot of discussion of the LOTR sets at www.lugnet.com in the off-topic/clone-brands group.<BR><BR><BR>

Thanks, Olsone for your informative post! My eBay sets haven't arrived yet but I guess I can stop looking for more, now! Anyhow, my son made a pretty mean Moria & bridge of Khazad-dum out of Duplo and a wild-looking Balrog (with wings) out of K'nex so I guess we'll have enough to work with!<BR>Can't wait to see those Dragons! I sure hope Australia gets them!

Hey! I just got the first two sets I ordered from the US- "Orc Attack at Amon Hen" (with Boromir & Lurtz) and "Battle at Weathertop" (with Sam & Aragorn. Some great scenery pieces and the figures weren't too bad with lots of tiny weapon accessories. My son thinks they're "wicked"- he played with them for nearly 4 hours straight! Can't wait for the other sets. I'm still hunting for a Mines of Moria- maybe I'll get a pre-loved one on eBay.<BR>Footnote: Rats! Just tried to get the voice chips to read with the Star Wars Comm-Tech reader but no go!!

the Intelliblox figures only have a resistor in the brick. In effect this tells the sound maker a number between 1 and 41 so it knows what figure it should speak for. There's no other information in the figure.<BR><BR>I don't know how Star Wars works, whether the voice data is in the figure.<BR><BR><BR>

Thanks, Olsone! I looked at the LUGNET site Intelli-blox thread- more info here than I've seen so far. Pity it's come and gone, and never made it here to Australia. I would have got out and stocked up on those half price sets just for the scenery & archway pieces etc. So that ugly brick that the figs stand on really is useless, then, without the Mines of Moria set. I don't really care about the sound function, but I would have loved to get that Durin's door piece! If you ever see any in your travels, you will send me a lead, won't you! I guess Lego will never make any LOTR stuff now.<BR>Hey, I know this is off-topic but seeing as you are a LUGNET member- can you tell me if the HP train can be motorised to run on the 9V track setup? I've got 3 other LEGO train sets I can cannabalise and reckon reckon it would look cool circling my Hogwarts castle!<BR><BR>Update: Woo Hoo!! I just got me a Mines of Moria set from eBay! It cost me an arm and a leg but we love it! My son has been inspired to build some other LOTR stuff including a really cool Tower of Orthanc! Normally I am squeamish about combining Lego with any other block, but the built up Intelli-blox sets can be used "whole" with extra Lego embellishments and I really love the detailed character figures! The sound function is amusing for a while, too!